Michigan woman charged in shots fired at shoplifters

DETROIT (AP) — A suburban Detroit woman is facing firearms charges after authorities say she shot at an SUV's tire to stop two shoplifters fleeing a Home Depot parking lot.

Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez of Clarkston was charged Tuesday with one count of reckless use, handling or discharge of a firearm, Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said.

The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a 90-day jail sentence upon conviction.

The shooting occurred Oct. 6 in Auburn Hills, northwest of Detroit. The shoplifters got away, but two men were arrested a few days later and charged with retail fraud.

Authorities have said the woman who fired the shot had a concealed weapons permit, but wasn't being threatened by the shoplifters.

Cooper called the attempt to stop the SUV "misguided."

"If this is proven, I find it very disturbing that someone would take out their gun in a busy parking lot and shoot at the tires of a passing car," she said. "Once fired, the bullet could have easily ricocheted or fragmented and injured or killed someone else."

"It would have been much more helpful for her to take out her cellphone and shoot pictures of the shoplifter's license plate," she said.

An arraignment date for Duva-Rodriguez' has not been set. A phone number listed for her was disconnected.

It was one of several incidents in recent weeks in which citizens shot at lawbreakers or potential lawbreakers.

On Sept. 21, a bank customer in Warren, north of Detroit, shot and wounded a robber fleeing the bank with cash. A northern Michigan woman was charged after two people were shot at Sept. 15 while picking apples from branches extending over a fence from private property.